Cotton Candy
by Le Confidant
Summary: Winry plucked a piece of the cotton candy flower and bit into it. Edward noticed how her lips smacked as she savored the sugary treat. God, she looked heavenly.


**Cotton Candy**

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 _Ingredients:_

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 _sugar_

 _food coloring in the color of your choice_

 _flavoring extract of your choice_

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 _Directions:_

Bright, incandescent lights?

Check.

Sequence lights, the kind that can make your head spin?

Check.

Loud bleating that can be heard from a far distance?

Check.

Unmistakable smell of crushed grass, fried food and manure?

Check.

Cheerful townspeople—

Edward said "hello" to a passerby before returning his attention to the surroundings. He was quite surprised to find that nothing had changed with regards to the Annual Resembool Spring Festival. The last time he had strolled around the fairgrounds was by the hand of his beloved mother. He had been what, four? maybe five? He couldn't remember. Times have sure changed and the blond didn't want to dwell in the past, you see, he was seventeen years old now and with a new lease on life. Exactly one year ago he had battled for the future, not only for his future and the future of his younger brother but also for the future of every living being that resided in Amestris. He had promised it so, and he delivered.

"You're spacing out again."

Edward blinked to awareness before looking to his right. Winry was staring at him sternly. He grinned as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"I guess I was," he said bashfully. His cheeks became hot when he noticed that Winry was pouting at him. He couldn't help but to think how adorable she looked with her lips all puckered as if they wanted to be kissed. The thought only served to deepen his blush.

"Aw, dammit! Where the hell did Al go?" Edward cried out. He needed to distract himself from thinking less than pure thoughts about his childhood friend. When that didn't work, he took off, leaving Winry behind and begun searching around for his brother amongst the busy place.

It took a moment but Winry caught up to him. "Don't leave me behind like that!" She ground out.

Edward shot at glance at her and noticed she was furious. "Sorry Win, but I'm worried about Al, you know he still tires easily." He was sincere with his statement but that wasn't the only reason why he left her behind.

"Al said he was going to meet us by the sheep pens so quit being such a worrywart," Winry admonished.

Edward knew Winry spoke the truth. Although Alphonse was much stronger now than he was in the past months, he still was prone to fatigue due to the weak state his body had been in one year ago.

"Yeah, whatever," Edward said airily. "Let's go to the sheep pens." He glanced at Winry from the corner of his eyes. She looked satisfied with his answer which was a relief in itself because he wasn't ready to discuss with his beautiful friend about why there was a persistent blush on his face.

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A multitude of doe eyes followed the young duo as they walked down the long dirt corridor. The building housing the sheep pens were long so Edward thought that maybe Alphonse was waiting for them at the other end.

They reached the other side of the building but Alphonse wasn't there; only a couple of kids playing tag and the setting sun were in the area. Edward turned around and headed again in the direction they came from.

"Don't worry so much, Ed," Winry said as she catch up to the worried blond. "I'm sure Al's fine."

Edward stopped on his tracks. Winry sounded too calm and nonchalant about the situation as if she was hiding something. "You know where Al is, don't you?" Winry laughed nervously in response, and it made Edward frown. "Spit it out." The curt words brought a scowl to Winry's face.

"Smooth as always, Ed," she muttered under her breath.

"What did you say!"

Winry blushed. She couldn't believe that the dense idiot had heard her. "I didn't say anything—stop yelling at me!" The blonde yelled on her defense.

"I'm not yelling!" Of course he was but that was beyond the point. Winry knew where Alphonse was and for some reason she was keeping it from him.

With arms akimbo, the beautiful blonde let out an exacerbated sigh. "You are yelling—" she gritted in utter frustration but she stopped on her tracks. "Never mind." The cat was out of the bag and there was no point in keeping Edward in the dark. She grabbed his right hand and tried to tug him across the field but Edward wasn't budging. This infuriated the blonde further. "You want to know where Al is don't you?" She tugged again, this time harder, and he finally moved.

"Let's go, dummy," Winry grumbled as they walked to the eastern side of the festival.

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The sun had already set when the teens reached the east side of the fairgrounds. A cool breeze could be felt every now and then along with and increasing drop in temperature. Edward wondered what Alphonse could he be doing on that part of the fair because as far as he knew the eastern side was arranged to be a dance area. The prospect of Alphonse dancing begun taking shape inside his head.

There was far more people in the dance area than Edward expected. It seemed that the people dancing were couples; the way they moved to the rhythm of soft music was a telltale sign. Amongst the couples, Edward saw Alphonse's olive eyes shining brightly as he twirled Nelly around the dance floor.

"What-the-hell!" The blond gasped.

"Stop right there." Winry pulled Edward back by a shoulder before he had a chance to even take a step forward.

"Winry!" He whined.

"Don't 'Winry' me, Ed," Winry chastised. She kept dragging Edward away from the dance area. "You saw that Al is doing fine, now let's go and let him have a good time."

Edward jerked free from Winry's tight grasp.

"You knew about this!" He reproached as an angry finger was pointed towards the beautiful blonde.

"Duh! Of course I did!" Winry retaliated. She knew Edward was going to react like a child when he found out about Nelly and Alphonse yet the stupid accusation made her boil with anger. "Who do you think arranged this?" She admitted just to spite him.

"What!" Edward shrieked, "Why!"

"Because Nelly likes Al and Al likes Nelly." Winry stated as a matter of fact. "I'm so sorry that you're too dense to even see this."

"But Alphonse told me—" Edward brought a hand to his mouth. Alphonse had told him something entirely different.

His little brother had said to him that Pitt needed help setting shop to sell his herbal tinctures. He should've have known something was off.

"Come by at sunset." Alphonse had sounded too chirpy, suspiciously chirpy.

"And bring Winry with you." He blatantly said while sporting a goofy grin.

"Make sure you two have a good time at the festival!" Alphonse had finished his little speech with a snicker followed by a wink. Those had been clear tattletale signs that he was up to no good.

"Oh, and 'behave'!"

It was obvious that his little brother had told a different story to Winry. The blond realized all too late what had been Alphonse's true intentions—that sneaky little shit.

Edward didn't know what make of Alphonse's ingenious plan. Maybe he did like Nelly but it was something he hadn't explicitly expressed this to him just yet—nope—not like him who had admitted to Alphonse that he had feelings for their childhood friend.

"Dammit, Al, you owe me one," he mumbled behind a bright red face.

"You're acting weird," Winry scrutinized as she tilted her had slightly to the right.

Shit! He had screwed up. Winry had heard him! Now she was gong to start asking questions that he just couldn't answer. Edward gulped just as his golden eyes darted at all directions while trying to find a way to escape from the awkward situation.

The carnival games were straight ahead, and without any warning, he took off again, leaving Winry hanging.

"Ed!"

The blond cringed as Winry's shrieking pierced through his skull but he much preferred dealing with a wrathful Winry than to deal with his own feelings.

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Winry soon catch up to Edward who was already halfway through the carnival games.

"Hey!" She called out to him but he seemed to be ignoring her. "Will you quit it, please?" Edward finally stopped. He turned around to meet Winry's wrath armed only with a lopsided grin. He had tried to look contrite too but failed miserably at it; his smile ended up looking like a pitiful grimace.

"Hey Winry…" He tried to sound apologetical but he also failed at this.

"What is the matter with you?" Winry snapped as soon as she stood in front of Edward.

Many answers to the simple question moved across his mind, like a marquee, the likes he had only seen in Central's financial district. To make matters worse, his brain was still trying to deal with the fact that he had been tricked by his little brother into going out on a date with the one person who left him breathless—not only that—but apparently Alphonse himself wanted to play that game too since he hooked up with Nelly.

"Are you angry at Al?" Winry asked once she realized that Edward wasn't responding.

The blond saw a small worried frown creeping on Winry's gentle features. Now he felt like a jerk.

"No—I mean, yes. Yes, I'm angry at Al," Edward confessed, but he kept the real reason of his upset to himself. "I just didn't know that he liked Nelly," he added earnestly.

"Well…" Winry lingered on that word and it made her look all too suspicious. "Um… it's Nelly who likes Al," the blonde admitted, taking back what she had said earlier. She averted her gaze to one of the game booths. "I don't really know if Al likes her that way."

"Oh…" Edward was completely surprised and utterly confused. So Alphonse hadn't planned to set him on a date with Winry? He sure was enjoying Nelly's company… Edward shook his head. It didn't matter now; he had been lured into going on a date with Winry.

Golden eyes contemplated her. Winry shone brightly even under the incandescent bulbs decorating the game booths, and she sure looked stunning in that cornflower blue dress she decided to wear that evening. A part of him wanted to think that she had dressed up like that for him but he knew better; just wishful thinking. Edward realized he hadn't dressed particularly for a date. He just haphazardly put together a pair of jeans, a red t-shirt and his white hoodie—dammit—he wasn't planing on being on a date!

"I didn't think you would make a big deal out of it, Ed." Winry's declaration made Edward return to the present. He offered her a bashful smile.

"Let him be. He sure looked like he was having fun." The thought of seeing Alphonse so happy brought a wide smile to his face. His little brother sure deserved happiness… happiness and a knuckle sandwich once their "dates" were over. The blond shifted all of his attention to Winry.

"Let's have some fun too." Edward beamed as he took Winry's hand. Since they were date, he figured, he should act the part.

Winry's face changed to a fierce shade of red as she nodded. She led herself be guided through the fairgrounds by the lovely young man and his dancing ponytail.

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It had been fun watching Edward trying to win a stuffed animal for her. He tried many games; like knocking off bottles, shooting darts at ballons or trying to make the bell ring in the strongman game. He didn't win anything. Edward was quite mortified, especially when the carnies implied that he was a "wimp". The teenaged blond had explained with all of his blunt charm that his center of gravity was off. Winry knew this was true. Edward's right arm was still weak just as Alphonse's entire body was still weak from being confined to the gate for four long years. Yes, Edward did lose his center of gravity since the heavy automail was replaced by a skinny, malnourished arm, still, Winry couldn't suppress the laughter as the game attendants guffawed her dear friend.

The duo left the game area as they inadvertently followed the scent of fried food. Edward's stomach growled (no big surprise there) so Winry decided to treat the sulking blond to something of his liking. They stopped at one of the food stands and ordered lamb kabobs and an orange soda. Winry wasn't in the mood for salty foods so she paid for Edward's order and took off with him.

"Aren't you hungry?" Edward asked as he tore at the kabob with his sharp teeth.

Winry rolled her eyes at Edward and his vulgar manners but she was too tired to let him have a piece of her mind. She checked the other food vendors around them but nothing they offered enticed her.

"Maybe something sweet," Winry mumbled as she glanced at Edward. "Maybe I'll have some funnel cake."

Edward chuckled. He wasn't surprised that his childhood friend wanted something sweet. Watching Winry stuff her mouth with sweets was something that took time adjusting to when he got back from Central a year ago. He still wondered where Winry packed all those calories since she didn't seem gain even an ounce with all the sweets she ate. He wasn't complaining; Winry's figure was that of a goddess and if sweets is what it took to maintain such divine figure—

"What?" Winry pouted. She felt uncomfortable about the way Edward was looking at her.

Was he staring? Duh, of course! Edward felt warmth creeping to his face.

"It's nothing," he spat before sucking on the paper straw and hiding his flushed face behind his orange soda.

Winry groaned to herself. She decided that she shouldn't waste her energy trying to figure out why Edward was being such an idiot.

The most sweetest scent was picked up just couple of yards down the line. Winry followed the saccharine aroma to its source.

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On the farthest corner of the western grounds stood a small red cart along with a stubby, middle-aged man. The blonde noticed that a small crowd was beginning to form around the cart. She left behind a miffed Edward as she joined the ranks of spectators.

When she got near, Winry saw that the small cart housed an electric cotton candy machine. The engineer in her did some flips since she never imagined encountering an electric-powered appliance at the fair. The stout operator was busy at the moment as he spun pink candy floss around a paper cone. Winry's attention left behind all thoughts of copper cables and transistors as her olfactory senses took over her engineer senses.

The delightful scent of strawberries made her perky nose dance, and for the looks of it, so did everyone else. Winry heard Edward approach and only glanced at him once he stood behind her.

The blond teen looked at the gathered crowd, at Winry and at the cotton candy maker making a gigantic sugar floss ball, all while he took a large sip of his soda. He shrugged his shoulders with indifference thinking that the middle-aged man didn't merit such attention.

"Winry, let just go," he droned but the blonde shushed him. He was about to complain to her about her rude gesture but then he heard a small child squealing with delight. He returned his attention to the cotton candy maker just as he poured in about a cup of orange-colored sugar into the hole of the spinning head. A few seconds later, candy floss of a a vivid yellow hue gathered inside the metallic bowl.

The stout man dipped the bottom portion of the pink ball back into the bowl and next to the spinning head. Soon, the bottom portion of the pink cotton candy ball was covered with yellow floss. The man leaned away from the machine for a second to grab another paper cone. He used the new stick to flatten the top of the yellow floss just before taking the cotton candy away from the machine. The man shook the cooling sugar floss, making the yellow portion open out with the movement.

The crowd was amazed with the end product.

"A sombrero!" A man from the crowd cried out in awe.

The cotton candy maker handed the giant sombrero to the squealing child who made the order.

"Here you go little man, enjoy!" The stout man said as his mustache curled upwards.

The cotton candy maker got swamped with orders just as the young boy and his mother left the little red cart.

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Edward pouted when he realized he was about to finish his soda. He had been waiting patiently for the crowd to go down so Winry could finally order a damn cotton candy.

As he waited, he had immersed himself in his little world. He thought of Alphonse and his matchmaking scheme. He thought of Winry and how much he adored her spending time with her. The thought of being on a date with the beautiful blonde made him blush.

Edward had always been in love with his mechanic but that feeling took solid form in the past few months. Alphonse knew this before he finally opened up to him. Since then, his younger brother had encouraged him into pursuing those feelings for the beautiful blonde. Edward sighed, thinking about the position Alphonse had put him in before closing his lips around the paper straw. Edward slurped the last drops of the orange soda before returning his attention to the present time. He looked around and noticed that they were the last people waiting in line for cotton candy.

"Ah—! What a lovely couple!" Greeted the cotton candy maker as him and his mustache graciously bowed to Winry. His thick foreign accent was noticeable now that the noisy crowd was gone.

Winry was delighted with the gesture and Edward couldn't help but to snort at the man's brazenness. A couple? They were not a couple. They were childhood friends who inadvertently were setup into going on a date.

The stout man keenly looked at Winry then at Edward.

"Of course, my apologies," he said as he fixed his sharp eyes on to Winry. He winked at her too before eyeing an enraged Edward.

The beautiful blonde giggled. "We're childhood friends, mister—"

"Ronaldo, señorita," the candy maker cut in, making Edward rolled his eyes at him.

Winry smiled. "Sure thing, Ronaldo."

Edward cursed under his breath. The audacity of that man! Addressing Winry with such familiarity and forcing her to do the same—

"Gracias," Ronaldo replied gracefully. He bowed again but his eyes were carefully studying the teenagers as he did so. He noticed the nervous tension coming from the boy. It gave away how he really felt for his young friend. He smiled, reminiscing on what it felt to be young and in love.

A smirk spread across Ronaldo's face as an idea popped into his head.

The cotton candy maker pulled out from cabinet three small plastic containers. He squatted down to grab a bag with sugar and some bottles of food coloring.

Edward and Winry watched in silence as the man poured a cup of sugar into each plastic container. Ronaldo set the bag with sugar aside and picked one of the bottles. He added three red drops into the first bowl. He was humming a song as he colored each mound of sugar with a different color.

"It's a song from the islands," he explained just as Winry was about to ask him, "it speaks about flowers."

Winry was delighted with the information but Edward couldn't care less.

Ronaldo put the sugar and the food coloring away then brought out two small glass vials. "Essential flavorings," he said to the teens as he unscrewed the cap from one of the containers.

The cotton candy maker carefully added each essence to the sugar mounds. Soon, the air surrounding the red cart was spiced with lavender and vanilla. The vibrant aroma made Winry's face brighten. Even a skeptical Edward was moved by the fragrant combination. Oddly, this piqued his curiosity and he wondered what the imprudent man was planning to make.

The cotton candy maker sealed the three containers. He then picked one up and begun shaking it vigorously. The coloring and flavoring soon begun mixing with the sugar. The refined crystals were tinged with red, blue and what looked like black. Ronaldo kept humming the same song as he flipped the machine on. He grabbed one long paper cone and the container with the red sugar mix. He poured the mix into the floss head, and seconds later, pink filaments begun to gather around the bowl of the machine. He begun moving the paper cone around the hot floss head and soon he had a pink ball sticking from the white cone.

"Now watch," Ronaldo said to the duo as he popped open the second container. Pink gave way to purple after the candy maker finished pouring the sugar mix into the machine. The strong scent of lavender twirled around the cart following Ronaldo's lead as he coated the pink floss with purple.

The childhood friends thought Ronaldo was going to do another sombrero but the man beat them to the punch as he lifted a finger into the air, telling them with the gesture that he was far from being finished. Ronaldo leaned to his right to grab a second paper cone.

"Y ahora," he begun saying in his native tongue, "…magic."

With his mustache curling upwards, Ronaldo begun folding into the pink floss sections of the purple floss with the aid of the second paper cone. After the first few folds both Winry and Edward deciphered the design that the cotton candy maker had in mind.

"Oh! It's a flower!" Winry squealed.

Of course it had to be a flower. Edward pursed his lips at the thought but his lips curled into a deep frown once he caught Ronaldo smirking at him. Was his affection for Winry so blatantly obvious that even complete strangers picked up on it? He huffed, making some loose strands of his long bangs sway with the puff of air. Instinctively, he watched Winry's face out of the corner of his eyes. His heart inexplicably fluttered when his eyes captured the look of delight on her beautiful face. He had to look away before his face begun flushing.

Ronaldo added another layer to the cotton candy. This time blue floss was transformed into petals, completing the design.

"Para la muchacha preciosa," the cotton candy maker said sweetly as he handed the gigantic flower to a blushing Winry.

"So what do I owe you?" Edward grunted as he pulled out his wallet. He just wanted to get the heck away from the red cart and the fastidious man.

Ronaldo simply gave him an ample smile. "Nada."

Edward didn't understand his response and begun taking out some bills from the wallet.

Ronaldo lowered the blond's hand as he shook his head. "It's on me," he stated. His words took Edward by surprise. He was about to disagree with the man but Ronaldo didn't let him.

"Childhood friends, childhood sweethearts," he chuckled, "call it whatever you want but you two do make a beautiful couple."

Ronaldo cackled as he returned to his duties. As he begun cleaning the floss head of the candy machine, he glanced at the teenagers and their stunned faces.

"Young love," he muttered to himself as he dunked the floss head into hot water.

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Edward and Winry walked away without saying anything to each other as they left the red cart behind.

Their feet brought them to the nearby pond, the one they used to play in with Alphonse when he was a bratty little boy.

"Hey, let's go and sit down under the oak tree," Winry said airily. He felt a small tug to his hand and that was all he needed to get his feet into motion.

Soon, they found themselves standing in front of the oak tree, the one that Winry's mother and his mother used to seat under as they watched them play under the summer sun. The bittersweet memory tugged at his heart. Winry noticed this since she gave him a fond smile.

"We can go somewhere else if you want, Ed."

"Naw, this is a good spot," he responded with a smile of his own. It really was the best spot of the pond since they had sparkling water and the faint flickering lights of downtown Resembool as a backdrop.

Edward extended a hand to Winry so she could sit down on the grass and in between the strong roots of the old tree. He sat nervously next to the blonde and rested his folded arms across his bent knees. Both sat under the tree in silence, contemplating the scenery before them. Edward every now and then looked at Winry from the corner of his eyes. She was lost in the glimmering surface of the pond. Her face looked serene and her expression was gentle. It was a sight that Edward seldom got to watch since the beautiful blonde always seemed to be guarded around him. The soft light from the fairgrounds hit Winry's face in the right places making her look even more gorgeous that she already was. Winry plucked a piece of the cotton candy flower and bit into it. Edward noticed how her lips smacked as she savored the sugary treat. God, she looked heavenly—

"What are you staring at?" Winry asked. She looked mildly offended (embarrassed maybe) since she was blushing fiercely as her blue orbs leveled with his golden gaze.

The blond felt intense heat gathering on his face. "Um, t-the cotton candy!" Edward stuttered. Winry cocked an eyebrow at his odd response. He wanted to smack himself for his stupidity.

Winry gazed at what was left of the modeled treat before extending it towards the chagrined blond. "You should've just asked me to give you some," Winry replied as she eyed Edward from the corner of her eyes.

Edward took the cotton candy without looking at Winry. He stared at the damn confection, silently blaming it for the highly embarrassing moment. He didn't want to eat cotton candy—he just had to go and put a foot in his mouth! Edward sighed in resignation and plucked a small piece of the sugar floss from the cotton candy flower.

His tastebuds titillated as an explosion of caramel, vanilla and lavender overwhelmed his senses. That cotton candy maker sure did know how to create magic alright! He plucked a few more pieces of candy floss before returning it to Winry. He found himself smacking and licking his sticky lips, just as Winry was doing moments ago. He looked at the blonde when he felt her eyes on him. She was blushing fiercely and this in turn made him gulp. Edward was no fool. He had suspected Winry liking him since she traveled Fort Briggs but to see her express these sentiments so blatantly…

Edward swallowed deeply as he gathered the courage to look at the object of his affection straight in the eyes. When he did level his golden gaze to hers, he noticed that her face had taken a bright crimson hue. His heart skipped a beat when the realization that she liked him became apparent. The blond licked his sticky lips again, savoring the delicious sugar that still clung to them. He wondered how Winry's lips would taste like since they were also coated with sugary goodness. Immediately, his heart banged loudly against his ribcage and he wondered if Winry could hear it too. His heart was beating fiercely for her, because he loved her. He was feeling new sensations and he also was feeling strong urges, like the urge of kissing those sticky lips of hers, but he hesitated. He was too timid about expressing how he really felt. This shyness of his was the reason why his little brother went out of his way to get him on a date with Winry.

"Hey, Ed, just quit staring," Winry complained, not being able resist his intense gaze anymore. "It's really emba—" The beautiful blonde didn't have a chance to finish the statement because Edward shushed when his lips pressed against hers.

The cotton candy slipped away from her hand.

Edward did it. He pushed his fears aside and kissed Winry. His heart beats tripled as he pulled away from her. They stared at each other for the longest of time not being able to put into words what had just transpired between them. The night breeze rustling the leaves above them and the unintelligible sounds coming from the fairgrounds accompanied them for a while.

Lines were crossed that night. The two of them crossed friendship as they traversed into the uncharted territory known as love.

"Wow…" Winry exhaled. It made Edward happy and extremely relived because she finally reacted. After the initial reaction, the blonde looked intently at Edward's hopeful eyes. "That was…" she started, and Edward held his breath with anticipation, "that was so lame."

"What!" Edward couldn't believe his ears.

"Well, what did you expect!" Winry continued, forcing her point across, "you call that a kiss?"

The gall of that woman! Edward boiled with mortification. "As if you could do better than that!" He dared, oh yes he dared! Winry saw red.

"Of course I can do better than that!" She snapped back, and with that, she leaned towards the sulking blond and crashed hers lips against his.

Edward stiffened; being caught off guard usually didn't set well with him, but this wasn't a fight and his life wasn't in immediate danger. He loosened up and led Winry take charge.

Said blonde begun kissing him with passion. She even brought her hands to the sides of Edward's face as she held to the kiss.

Winry secretly wanted to sweep the sugar off his lips. She sucked in a breath and smiled against his mouth, delighted that the vanilla and lavender still lingered on Edward. She had loved the taste of cotton candy melting in her mouth but she much preferred to taste it from the mouth of the person that made her heart skip a beat. She licked his lips just before capturing them with hers. Kissed Edward a few more times before pulling back. Her face was fully flushed and undoubtedly glowing.

"How was that for a change?" She teased behind a cheeky grin.

Edward was stunned. After all this time he always thought to be the one leaving the other breathless yet Winry had outdone him. He had loved every second of it too but such admission was a secret he was taking to the grave. Now, he had to do something about the smug blonde.

"It wasn't lame," he said with a Mustang-caliber smirk, "but it wasn't great neither." The snarky remark was sure make Winry blow a fuse.

"Why you—!" Winry fumed, just as Edward predicted. The blond immediately leaned towards her, not giving her a chance to yell at him or to brain him. This time he was much more assertive in his advance.

Edward claimed her lips, biting and sucking and pulling only to start again. Winry moaned a little liking the aggressiveness but she wasn't going to give Edward full control. She kept up with his cocky pace, returning every bite, suck and tug with the same eagerness. Her actions urged Edward to keep going. He was feeling more confident and soon begun coaxing Winry to part her mouth by running the tip of his eager tongue across her swelling lips. Winry hesitated at first but the trust she had in Edward made her let go.

The blond halted once he felt her mouth part for him. It was what he wanted but he just couldn't handle the intensity of the moment anymore. Edward knew he needed a "time-out" or risk having a highly embarrassing situation happening in front of Winry.

"What's wrong?" Edward saw mild hurt and confusion in her eyes.

"Nothing is wrong," he replied; his mind thanked her innocence. The brief pause distracted him enough and now he was ready to get to know that beautiful mouth of hers. He got closer as he parted his own.

Teeth clicked as the inexperienced teens explored the titillating sensations of the first intimate kiss. Winry giggled some, thinking that this inexperience of theirs was rather cute but she left that sentiment behind as Edward deepened the kiss. Timid tongues begun knowing one another and soon found themselves twirling at the tune of that ancient dance instinctively known to all humans.

Edward felt like he was in Heaven. All the anger he had felt for being setup into dating Winry quickly vanished as his being filled with wonderful sensations. This "love" thing was something rather new to him, a feeling he didn't dare feel until Alphonse was returned to his body. Thankfully, those times were long left behind. Edward now had a fresh start on life and on love, and he had to admit that he liked the feeling.

He sure hoped Winry felt the same way too.

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The duo hit the road again. This time they didn't head towards the fairgrounds but back to the yellow house. They were close to reaching curfew and Edward sure didn't want Pinako getting on their case.

The stars were crossing the night sky. The gentle spring breeze had turned colder making Winry shiver. They were halfway back home so it wasn't a big deal if she had to withstand some cold, in fact, she hadn't felt the dip in temperature until now. All her senses had been enraptured in the moment she experienced by the pond. Edward had kissed her in a way that lovers kissed. It took her by surprise too since said blond never hinted his affection for her. She was glad he did though, because she now knew that he loved her too.

A gush of wind swirled around them chilling Winry to the bone.

"Here."

Winry turned to Edward who was now handing her his white hoodie jacket. She didn't think it twice and took it, quickly putting it on. A smile rose to her lips as the warm piece of clothing hugged her. She savored the sensation, not only because she realized she was colder than she admitted, but because having the warm hoodie on felt as if Edward was embracing her. She not only relished on the heated warm but also on the scent it gave.

A scent of musk and machine oil; of citrus and patchouli; a scent so very masculine, so very Edward; it made her heart skip a beat.

Edward observed quietly how Winry's face slowly turned from pink to bright red and wondered what was going through… his girlfriend's head? He did a double take. Was Winry his girlfriend now—?

"Thank you, Ed." Her blue orbs flickered with gratitude, making him lose his thread.

"Yeah…" he said as he rubbed the back of his neck.

Out of nowhere, Winry stood on tiptoes and placed a chaste kiss on his lips. She got back down and smiled. Edward, in turn, place his hands on her shoulders then craned his neck down to kiss her deeply. Both chuckled when he pulled back.

Edward contemplated the gorgeous young woman and his heart swelled with joy. He really was happy that the date had happened. Boyfriend and girlfriend; childhood sweethearts or childhood friends; it didn't matter. Their relationship had changed forever. The questing days were over, so now he had time to explore these new experiences that life had thrown at him; there was nothing that would interfere with his intentions for the beautiful blonde.

Everything would fall into place in due time. He took Winry by the hand and the young couple continued their trek back home cradled under the blanket of a fortuitous spring evening.

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End note:

Guess who's been listening to Bruno Mars lately? Me! That's who! XD

Anyway, thank you for reading! I plan to post one shots like this every now and then especially when I'm trying to get back into the mood of writing more substantial stuff. _Cotton Candy_ is also a companion piece to my first fanfic. Those who had read it already know which one I'm mentioning. Yes, _Cotton Candy_ was inspired by that other fic because I'm actively working on the rewrite. Think of this as a teaser for those who liked that fanfic. More on that in the near future.

Oh! If you wondered what song the OC was humming it's _Bachata Rosa_ by Juan Luis Guerra y 4.40. It's a song from neighboring Quisqueya (Dominican Republic). Lovely song. My mom used to play it lots when I was a kid.

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Reference

Yummy | Easy Meals Every Day


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